Grenadian charged in New York with defrauding undocumented Caribbean immigrants

NEW YORK, CMC –A Grenadian man faces up to seven years in prison after he appeared in a New York court charged with several offences related to his work with three undocumented Caribbean immigrants who had sought his services to process work permits and green card applications.

James Archibald, 55, is due to return to court on August 8 for sentencing.

“This defendant is accused of preying on some of the most vulnerable members of our society, who were victimised as they attempted to comply with federal laws,” said New York District Attorney, Eric Gonzalez.

He is accused of grand larceny, scheme to defraud, immigration assistance services fraud and related charges for allegedly stealing US$8,520 from the three undocumented Caribbean immigrants.

Gonzalez said that between October 2016 and May 2018, the defendant, who was the owner of a company called US Caribbean and Asian Development Organisation, allegedly stole US$8,520 from the three undocumented immigrants, “who paid him to process and expedite work permit and green card applications on their behalf with USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services).

“The victims, who were from St Kitts and Jamaica, met the defendant through mutual acquaintances,” Gonzalez said, adding “after receiving the payments, the victims repeatedly contacted the defendant but he failed to provide the promised services, and they tried to get their money back.

“It is alleged that the defendant told the victims that, if they persisted in pursuing refunds, he would report them to USCIS. He also allegedly failed to return the passports of two victims,” Gonzalez said, noting that the investigation into the matter began in January after two of the unidentified victims filed complaints against Archibald with the District Attorney’s Action Center, which put them in contact with the District Attorney’s Immigrant Affairs Unit.